Page 10 of Love on the Run

“What did I do?” she asked, uncomfortably aware that she must have said something, done something to make a man blush the way Jake was now.

“I know it was just the drugs.” He cleared his throat. “But just when I decided that you should get out of your own clothes, seeing as they were covered in blood, you know…”

“What did I do?” She insisted on hearing the worst.

“Well, you were real out of it, but awake. You kind of… kissed me, that’s all.”

“I kind ofkissedyou?” she repeated, her voice rising a little. She sat up in the bed.

“Well, you really kissed me, to be honest.”

“Oh, my God,” Callie groaned, mortified.

“In all fairness, I can’t say I exactly minded,” Jake drawled, very carefully not looking at her.

“Oh, my God. I’msosorry,” she hid her face in her hands. “I never would have… I mean…”

“Didn’t figure you would have,” he said quietly.

“Oh, I didn’t mean…”

“Don’t worry about it, Callie. You were out of it. It wasn’t your fault. No harm done.”

“Are you sure?” Her cheeks were hot with embarrassment.

“Well, do I look harmed?” He grinned crookedly, trying to restore his command of the situation.

But a lot of times harm didn’t show on the surface. Just for a second, Callie got a flash of intuition. Jake was suffering. Maybe not because of what she had done last night, but her being here sure wasn’t helping. “I’m putting you through a lot of trouble. I’ll get out of your way just as soon as…”

“You’re no trouble,” he cut in. “And you’re not going anywhere on that leg. Not for a couple of days. Besides, your car’s still on the side of the highway.”

Her eyes widened. “Oh,” was all she said. That was a problem she hadn’t considered. The thing might not even start again.

“How far is it to…a city, I guess? I can catch a bus…”

He shook his head once, his eyes turning a little flinty. “Stop it. I’m dead serious; you are in no shape to travel. You’re stuck with me for a little while longer.”

“I’m imposing,” she protested weakly, staring down at the blanket. “I’m not worth the bother.”

Jake’s response to that was a quiet, disbelieving laugh. He reached out to touch her chin, a move so quick and careful she barely felt it, but it had the effect of drawing her gaze up again, where it was caught by his own. Callie wished she knew what was going on behind his eyes.

“Look,” he said, giving her a once over. “You’re staying here tonight. But you’ll have the place to yourself, since I have to go into work in a little while.”

“Now?”

“I have some odd shifts. We don’t have a lot of staff, and one of the guys is on vacation. I should be back just after midnight. I bet you’ll sleep the whole time. Bruiser will be here. Is that okay?”

“Yes, of course.”

“If you go downstairs, don’t try to do too much. There’s a TV in the living room. Eat whatever you want. The number for the police station is on the fridge. Call if you need anything—they’ll put you through to me if I’m in the truck. But just rest, okay?”

“Okay,” Callie smiled, unaware of just how pale and fragile she looked.

“Good girl,” Jake turned to leave. As he started down the staircase, Callie stopped him.

“Jake?”

“Yeah?”

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